


Friends for Now

by TigerLily



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Budding Love, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-28
Updated: 2017-03-31
Packaged: 2018-09-20 09:31:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,024
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9485111
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TigerLily/pseuds/TigerLily
Summary: The beginnings of a beautiful friendship.





	1. Chapter 1

“What are you doing here, Stark?” Natasha asked as she watched Tony touch down in one of his Iron Man suits. She thought she had been on a highly classified mission, but the SHIELD servers were no match against Tony when his curiosity was piqued.

“I was in the area, so I’m here to rescue a damsel in distress,” Tony replied once he flipped up the Iron Man face plate. 

“Do I look like I am in distress?”

“No,” Tony agreed trying not to laugh at the man struggling under the heel of Natasha’s boot. “You look like you have everything under control.”

“So?”

“I can stick around, pop some popcorn, watch you work and offer you a lift home,” Tony suggested with a playful smirk.

“I have a ride already,” Natasha informed him as she dispatched the struggling man with a kick to the side of the head. “But, thank you.”

“My loss then,” Tony joked with a wry grin.

“Are you flirting with me?”

“Of course I am.”

Natasha shook her head in quiet bemusement. “Don’t you have technology to create?” she asked changing the subject back to why he was there interfering in the first place.

“What I have is a black tie gala to avoid,” Tony reminded Natasha of the event Nick Fury had blackmailed him into throwing.

“It won’t hurt you to be social, you know.”

“Only if you are there to keep me entertained.”

“You are worse then Clint,” Natasha retorted in annoyance tired of dealing with Tony’s childishness. She had a mission to complete.

Tony shrugged. He didn’t mind being compared to the archer, but he heard the annoyance in Natasha’s voice and knew it was time to let her get back to work. “On that note, I’ll see you stateside,” he said before flipping the face plate down and taking off.

“Maybe, maybe not,” Natasha murmured as she watched Tony fly away.

*&*

Natasha quietly slipped into Tony’s black tie gala and stayed along the fringes of the crowd. She found it amusing to watch the people who came to such events since they reminded her of moths fluttering around a flame hoping to be warmed, but not burned.

“I knew you would show up,” Tony quietly crowed behind her.

“I’m not here to entertain you,” she muttered as she turned to face him annoyed by the fact that he had been able to sneak up on her. She must have been more tired than she thought.

“That’s okay,” Tony said with a casual shrug. “Watching Steve deal with the old cronies has been entertaining enough.”

“You are a sad little man, Tony Stark,” Natasha remarked as she watched Steve charm one of the little old ladies that were circling him.

“You’ll get no argument from me on that,” Tony quietly agreed as he tugged free his bow tie. He was ready to leave since he had already played the part of gracious host.

“So?”

“Want to blow this pop stand?”

“And do what?”

“Whatever we want.”

“Have you always been so indecisive?”

“Only when it comes to people,” Tony admitted. People and emotions would always trip him up.

“I guess we can go somewhere and have a quiet drink,” Natasha suggested. She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with a room full of rich and obnoxious people anymore than Tony was.

Tony smiled and held out his hand.

Natasha placed her hand in his and let Tony escort her out of the ballroom.

*&*

Tony led Natasha out of the secret elevator that went directly to the Tower penthouse where he stayed when he was in New York. “This quiet enough for you?”

“You aren’t trying to seduce me, are you?”

“I doubt you would let me get to first base,” Tony softly replied as he walked over to the bar and poured them each a drink. “So, no, I’m not trying to seduce you.”

“Then why the sudden interest in me?”

“I’ve always been interested in you,” Tony explained walking up to where she was standing near the floor to ceiling windows that overlooked downtown Manhattan. “But, I was in a relationship when we first met.”

“And now?”

“Now,” Tony said as he handed her a glass of white wine. “I’m footloose and fancy free.”

“And on the prowl?”

“Have you always been so negative?” Tony countered before taking a sip of iced tea.

“I am Russian,” Natasha reminded him.

“You aren’t the first Russian I’ve encountered, so that reasoning doesn’t fly with me,” he pushed wondering if Natasha would open up or walk away.

“I’m a pragmatist then.”

“That I can buy.”

“Which leads us back to my original question,” Natasha pointed out.

“I want to be your friend.”

“Nothing more than that?”

“Nothing more than that,” Tony agreed. He would like more, but he wouldn’t push. He had discovered in recent years that friendship was more valuable than sexual gratification.

“Alright,” Natasha replied accepting Tony’s offer. “So what do we do next?”

“We can go outside and stargaze or hit the media room and watch movies.”

“A movie marathon sounds nice,” Natasha said as she walked back over to the bar and set her empty glass on it. “But, I’m not really dressed for lounging around.”

“Pepper left behind some clothes,” Tony told her when he really wanted to tell her that she looked beautiful in the simple yet elegant jade ball gown she had chosen to wear. “Maybe you’ll find something comfortable to wear amongst them.”

“Do you have anything in your closet?” she countered not wanting to wear Pepper’s clothes even though they were still friends. For some reason it felt like Tony was trying to replace Pepper with her and she wasn’t having any of that. “I don’t feel comfortable wearing another woman’s clothes.”

“I might be on the rebound,” Tony quietly admitted sensing that a little bit of the truth might keep this evening from turning into a disaster of hurt feelings. “But, I’m not going to destroy your and Pepper’s friendship just because I’m not good at being alone outside of a science binge.”

“I can understand that,” Natasha observed secretly wondering when Tony had decided to become a mature adult.

“I doubt that, but I do have something that might fit you,” Tony said changing the subject. He wasn’t ready to discuss the whys and hows of his maturing process.

“A pair of flannel pants and an old rock tour t-shirt perhaps?” Natasha gently teased.

“I actually own a pair of decent pajamas,” Tony grumbled good-naturedly as he shrugged out of his tux jacket and laid it on the back of the couch. He walked back to the bar and poured himself another drink.

“Silk or cotton?”

“Does it matter?”

“No, it doesn’t,” Natasha admitted. “I just like messing with you.”

“You’ve been hanging around Barton for too long,” Tony muttered. “He’s warped your sense of humor.”

Natasha shrugged and then wandered into Tony’s seldom used bedroom in search of his decent pair of pajamas.

Tony sipped at his drink as he watched her walk away. There was never a dull moment when he was around Natasha.

*&*

Natasha didn’t have to search the whole bedroom since Tony had left his pajamas in the first place she decided to look. She pulled them out from under his pillow and walked into the bathroom.  
“Jarvis please start the shower,” she requested of Tony’s A.I. as she undressed.

“Of course, Agent Romanov,” Jarvis replied as he did as she requested before returning his attention back to the living room where Tony stood staring out into the night.

Natasha smiled and stepped into the shower. She sighed with relief as the hot water cascaded down her back helping to loosen the knotted muscles in shoulders and neck.

*&*

Tony heaved a tired sigh and pulled his attention away from the night sky since he wasn’t appreciating the beauty that was Fifth Avenue at night. He finished his drink and set the empty glass on the bar.

He drummed his fingers on the bar top trying to decide what to do next while he waited for Natasha to get comfortable. Waiting patiently wasn’t a skill he had managed to master, so he pushed away from the bar before he was tempted to numb his nerves with another drink.

He strolled around the room picking up and toying with the little objects of art Pepper had decorated the place with before putting them down and moving on.

He was about to start another circuit around the room when the door to his bedroom opened and Natasha stepped out wearing his pajamas.

“Comfortable?” he asked as he put a brightly colored glass ball back into the wrought iron basket on the coffee table.

“Yes,” Natasha replied with a warm smile. She walked up to the couch and leaned against it. “Thank you.”

“Do you know the kind of movies you are in the mood to watch?”

“What are you in the mood to watch?” she countered with a raised eyebrow. She couldn’t help finding Tony’s sudden case of nerves amusing, which reassured her that he was serious about just wanting to be friends.

“I was thinking a James Bond marathon, but I figure you’re probably tired of spy stuff,” Tony answered.

“Bond is pure escapism for the most part,” Natasha remarked surprised that Tony was being considered of her feelings. “And, he’s not hard on the eyes.”

“Then Bond it is,” Tony said with a dry chuckle as he held out his hand. “Shall we?”

Natasha slipped her hand into his and agreed, “Yes.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony and Natasha continue to get acquainted.

“Which Bond would you like to start with? Connery or Craig?” Tony asked as he flopped down on the sofa that faced the big screen TV.

“Craig,” Natasha answered as she settled next to Tony. “I haven’t had the chance to see his movies.”

“You’ll like them,” Tony assured her. “Clint does.”

“I and Clint rarely agree on movies,” Natasha reminded him not wanting to be painted with the same brush as her partner. They were distinct individuals despite the rumors running around SHIELD that they were joined at the hip.

“I know,” Tony replied. “Just trust us this once. We won’t lead you astray.”

“Alright,” Natasha agreed. “But, if you are wrong...”

“If I’m wrong, I’ll willingly submit to one of your training sessions,” Tony finished for her.

“Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“Too late,” Tony murmured.

“I’m sorry,” Natasha apologized. “I didn’t mean to remind you of Pepper.”

“You didn’t,” Tony quickly reassured her. “I’m just remembering the promise I made to Yinsen and some days I wonder if I’ve done enough to uphold it.”

“What did you promise him?” Natasha had read Tony’s file and she knew Yinsen was a scientist that had been held with Tony by the Ten Rings. Yinsen had saved Tony’s life after he had been injured by one of his own weapons.

“To stop looking out for myself and my desires, and to leave the world a better place than how I found it,” Tony answered. “Or something along those lines.”

“Some would consider it a tall order to fill, but I think you are doing a good job, so stop beating yourself up about it,” Natasha advised him.

“I could say you’re good for my ego,” Tony said with a huff of dry laughter. “But, then that would be a cop out.”

“And you are above those now?”

“I’m trying to be,” Tony answered with brutal honesty. “But, I may slip up every so often.”

“Humans do,” Natasha quietly remarked.

“The ones who admit that they have flaws,” Tony reminded her.

“True.”

Tony nodded. “Let’s table this wonderful discussion for some gratuitous sex and violence,” he suggested since he didn’t want to get into an argument with her.

Natasha rewarded the suggestion with a sarcastic eye roll, but went along with it by saying, “Certainly.”

“J, cue up and play the Bond movies that have Daniel Craig in them,” Tony requested of his A.I.

“Of course, sir,” Jarvis replied as he turned down the lights and started the movies.


End file.
